Lavender Water Lillies

Lavender water lillies, San Diego, CA. Water lillies are amazing flowers, aren't they? They bloom each morning and then shut each night. They are pollinated by little beetles that fly in during the day and then get trapped over night (or so I've heard anyhow...).

Water Lillies are in Season

Pink Water Lilly, Nymphaea hybrid. The pink water lilly in the oak barrel in the front yard is showing off it's annual flower. Actually, each year it puts out somewhere between 1-3 flowers. I used to have a few different varieties but, over time, this lovely pink one pretty much won out. The rest, I suspect, went to water lilly heaven. They all came from those little boxes of water lilly tubers they sell at Home Depot every fall for pond plants. I tossed each in a plastic pot with some dirt; put some gravel on top; and into the (plastic lined) oak barrel they went. So far so good. Maybe someday, it'll get a real pond...

Purple Water Lillies

Purple Water Lillies, Balboa Park, San Diego. Water lillies open for the day and then close each evening.

Lilly in the Setting Sun

Pink Water Lilly in the setting sun at the botanical gardens. The flowers were starting to close up for the night but were still open enough to put on a show.

Candy-striped Water Lilly

Well, I've got this candy striped water lilly growing in a lined oak barrel. It seems kind of silly but I really look forward to seeing it bloom once a year. I suppose, if I put it in a bigger space with more sun I might actually get more than one measly flower a year! Still, it's fun. They close up every night and open again in the morning.

Would You Kiss This Frog?

The water lillies are blooming and the frogs are out enjoying the sun. This little frog has staked out his own private lilly pad! The lilly pond is at the Quail Botanical Gardens.